We’ve discussed before the issue of companies gathering vast amounts of data on individuals in order to create targeted behavioral advertising. Now, the New York Times reports that the same types of data collection and profile creation are being used by political campaigns: Political campaigns, which have borrowed tricks from Madison Avenue for decades, are [...]
Google and other online advertising companies like Vibrant Media, Media Innovation Group, and PointRoll, are using a flaw in Safari on iOS to track you despite your privacy settings. iOS Safari is set by default to reject tracking cookies from 3rd party websites. That means that unless you are directly and intentionally interacting with a [...]
We’ve discussed before how some Internet browsers have Do Not Track features to give consumers more control over the personal data that is gathered by Web sites or advertisers. The Do Not Track and other privacy tools in browsers seek to avoid “cookies,” which collect data about and can track users’ Internet searches and sites visited. Apple’s Safari, Mozilla’s Firefox and [...]
Entry written by Heather Ormerod, Senior Communications Advisor, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Once a year, privacy advocates and enthusiasts around the world get the chance to collectively shine a spotlight on the issue of online privacy. Data Privacy Day, which is celebrated annually on January 28, is an annual international celebration designed [...]
Our Office understands the challenges faced by law enforcement and national security authorities in fighting online crime at a time of rapidly changing communications technologies and the need to modernize their tactics and tools accordingly. We’re not necessarily opposed to legislation that modernizes police powers online – but it must demonstrably help protect the public, [...]
The Wall Street Journal reports on the troubles that consumers have with Web sites that collect and publish personal data: Getting personal information removed from websites that collect it can feel a lot like playing Whac-a-Mole. David Cox, a businessman from Tulsa, Okla., got his name, address and other personal details removed from the online [...]
The Associated Press reports how a settlement in a privacy case affected Netflix’s earnings. Note that there has been recent interest in Congress in changing the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988, which requires written consent from consumers before video rental records can be shared, and the consent must be given before each disclosure. The VPPA [...]
The FBI in conjunction with the Bureau of Justice Assistance and Joint Regional Intelligence Center have produced a number of fliers to help the public identify possible terrorists. While some of the points have merit, it is very likely that this will generate an extremely high proportion of false alerts based on perfectly reasonable and [...]
Politico reports on debate in Congress concerning legislation about data security breaches: Congress failed to pass a new federal law last year requiring the litany of companies affected by data breaches — from gaming giant Sony to shoe e-tailer Zappos — to notify consumers. But now some lawmakers believe they have a new route for [...]
Entry written by Kristen Yates, Senior Public Education Officer, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. It can be tough raising kids in a digital environment. Many of them use the Internet effortlessly, and easily adapt to new devices that connect to it. For many of us, these tools have become a routine part of [...]